


The One Where She Knows the Phrase

by thestanceyg



Series: April Challenge Redux [14]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Speed Dating, appearance by Clint Barton, mentioned Jane Foster - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 10:44:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14330769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestanceyg/pseuds/thestanceyg
Summary: Holiday: Look up at the Sky DaySelf selected Prompt:Number 116Although A normally goes to the cafe on Thursday evenings, A’s sibling had called in tears, and s/he had been forced to miss it. So instead A goes the next evening, sitting down at a table with a fresh cup of tea, and then abruptly realized that Friday night was Speed Dating night as B slides into the chair opposite and says, “They say you and I only have five minutes, but I can tell we’re going to need longer.”





	The One Where She Knows the Phrase

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HKThauer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HKThauer/gifts).



Darcy had a standing date on Thursdays with the corner cafe and her dissertation draft. While she obviously worked on it more than just the four hours she spent at the cafe, her cafe hours were always the most productive revisions she did during the week.

This week, though, Jane had called crying just as she was packing up to leave, and she had instead spent the night Skyping Jane and helping her combat a sudden onset of imposter syndrome due to a mathematical error called out by some asshat that had a grudge over her getting a Nobel the year he published his most impressive work. It had been a long night that had included Darcy ordering pizza and sending it to Jane when she realized the woman hadn’t had dinner because she was so upset over the situation. 

That morning, she had brought her students donuts and held an impromptu debate using all they had learned so far to determine whether or not Asgardians were bound by local laws instead of the lecture she had originally planned. She did not have the wherewithal to lecture after the two hours of sleep she had gotten. She might have momentarily fallen asleep behind her sunglasses. That she was wearing indoors. Not inconspicuous or anything.

Even though she had a vague sense that she shouldn’t spend Friday night in the coffee shop, she decided to go to the cafe to get in the editing session she had missed last night. She had just gotten to her table with the sweetest concoction they served when she actually took a good look around and it hit her: it was the once a month speed dating night.  _ That _ was shy she shouldn’t have come. As she quickly looked around to see if there was a table she could move to out of this disaster waiting to happen, a man sat down across from her.

“They say you and I only have five minutes, but I can tell we’re going to need longer.” The line was incredibly cheesy, but he also said it with a grin like he knew how ridiculous the line was, which made it not seem as gross as it might have. Also, he was seriously hot. That didn’t hurt either.

“When you’re as good as I am, you don’t need five full minutes,” she said with a raise of her eyebrow in challenge while secretly wondering why she didn’t just tell him that she wasn't here to speed date.

He leaned back in his chair and considered her. “I hadn’t expected to find you first thing,” he said.

“I’m rarely what people expect,” she said with a small flip of her hair. For something she had expected to be annoying, she was actually having fun.

“How’d you end up mixed up in all this?” he asked, leaning in.

“How does anyone?” she replied with a shrug. “Somewhere my choices put me on a path I didn’t realize.”

“I hear that,” he said with a sigh.  “Shall we then?” He placed his hands on his thighs and stood up.

“Shall we what?” she asked, a little unclear what his expectations were. She had never done speed dating before. Was there some process for when you hit it off?

“You know, go  look up at the sky ?”

An odd request, but sure, why not? Obviously she wasn’t going to be editing tonight, and she had zero interest in spending time with other would be speed daters.

She grabbed her bag and her coffee and followed him out into the street.

“My name’s Darcy, by the way.”

“Sam,” he said with a smile. “And it should be just over here.”

“Okay, sure,” she said. He must have been trying to find a vantage point where they could see the moon.

She followed him to the mouth of an alley and stopped. He was hot, but not be killed in a back alley hot. “Uh, Sam?” she asked. “What the actual fuck?”

“Our ride?” he said, waving up at the sky.

“Ride?’

“Yeah,” he said again. Her eyes went back up to the sky, and damn if there wasn’t a plane there now.

“Ummm, tonight has been lovely, but I am not going to get on that. I don’t know who you work for, but the answer is no.”

She turned to leave, but then a voice from the plane stopped her. “Wilson! Why do you have Lewis?” She stopped and looked at Sam, wondering how he knew Clint and how bad this was about to be.

“She said the phrase!” Sam said.

“Oh.  _ Oh no _ ,” Darcy said, feeling a bit unsteady. “I thought we were just speed dating.”

Sam turned to her. “Damnit! I knew it was too good to be true that the hot girl was the mark.”

“You think I’m pretty?”

“Do you own a mirror? Of course I do!”

“I can’t stress how much I think it’s hilarious you two have made some sort of love connection, but Sam you need to get back and get the right person.”

“Yeah, and I’ll just, like, go back to my apartment. This has been...surreal.”

“Wait!” Sam yelled. “You can’t go without giving me your number.”

“Yeah, okay,” she agreed, scribbling it on an old receipt and handing it to Sam. “Give me a call when all this is done.”

“You better believe I will,” he said putting it in his pocket. “Pleasure meeting you Darcy.”

“If you call, I promise it will be your pleasure,” she said with a wink. Clint’s laughter followed her down the street.

“Ours,” Sam called after her. “My momma didn’t raise me wrong. I’m a gentleman, and I promise I know how to show a lady a good time.”

“Oh, I  _ definitely  _ like you,” she laughed. “Hurry up and finish whatever this mess is, and we can get started on that.”

Maybe she didn’t get to have her editing session, but she certainly had an interesting evening.


End file.
